Episode 048 - Beer Cocktails (AKA "Beertails")

What’s shakin, cocktail fans?

In today’s episode, we explore the intersection of two beautiful beverages - beer and cocktails. Although beer and cocktails are very separate and distinct beverage categories today, there were various points in world history and in the history of the United States where the line between these two types of drinks was much blurrier.

We were able to get ahold of cocktail author and beverage consultant Jon Yeager, who, along with his wife Lindsay, runs a company called PourTaste in Nashville.

Featured Beertail - The Dog's Nose

This week’s featured beer cocktail is the Dog’s Nose, which is about as classic a beer cocktail as you’ll ever come across. To make it, you’ll need:

1 pint of a dark ale (porter works, but there are other options)

2 oz gin (London dry is a good choice here)

½ tablespoon of brown or unrefined sugar (you can go for a full tablespoon here if the ale is a dry one)

A dash of nutmeg

And what you want to do is get a heat-resistant glass, warm up that ale (either stovetop or in the microwave) to the point where it’s steaming, but not bubbling or boiling. And then add the gin and the sugar. The heat is going to allow the sugar to dissolve as you stir, and then just shake or grate that nutmeg right on top of the drink before you serve.

To me, the Dog’s nose is a great example of several classic beertail “moves” that Jon and I discuss. Heating the beer is one of those moves that was very common back in the day, and adding spice to the equation is another classic beertail hallmark.

Show Notes

Okay, so we threw a lot of funny looking drink names and definitions at you this episode. Here's a breakdown that should help you keep them straight.

Purl

This is beer (or wine in the case of the "Purl Royale") infused with wormwood, and possibly other herbs and spices. Often served warm.

The predecessor to purl is a beer antecedent called gruit, which is beer that was bittered with roots and spices, rather than hops.

A steaming bowl of wassail

Wassail

Wassial is like a beer punch. Basically, you take some nice dark ale, heat it up, and add mulling spices like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. Occasionally, biscuits would even be floated on top of the hot liquid.

This beverage was often served during the Christmas holidays to groups of people who went "wassailing" (what we would call caroling) door-to-door.

Possett

A possett consists of dark beer whipped into egg and cream, seasoned with citrus and/or spice.

Other Beer-Driven Mixed Drinks

Jerry Thomas's Porter Punch

Porter (Ale)

Brandy

Cucumber (Muddled)

The Michelada

Made with Mexican beer, lime juice, spice, and maybe some worcestershire sauce and/or veg, the Michelada is like a Mexican lager ran into a Bloody Mary.